YouTube plans to take on Spotify with subscription-based music service

The music streaming market has become especially crowded with the addition of Apple’s iTunes Radio, but another major player in the online world is supposedly preparing its own service to complicate matters even further. Billboard reports that YouTube is close to launching its own premium music streaming service, complete with a subscription-based model and a free component, similar to Spotify.

One key feature of YouTube’s service will be its focus on music videos, something none of its competitors have been able to offer. Users of the service might also be able to cache music on their phones for offline listening. Finding music on YouTube is simple enough already, so it will be important for the website to justify a premium price tag if it plans on convincing users to pay for added convenience.

According to Billboard‘s sources, YouTube is hoping to release the service later this year, which could “coincide with a larger redesign of the YouTube mobile app that would give users a simple, clean interface in which to listen to music, create custom playlists and watch videos at the same time.”